Gather 'round…
It has been said that tough things, painful things, are grist for the writing mill. Recently, friend of mine threw that one out there second-hand—the roll of her eyes and snort of derision reaching through the email screen. She offered it up to a mutual writing buddy, in case they might draw any more comfort... Continue Reading →
Language. It is intrinsically valuable and, used correctly, purely beautiful. Words have the power to break and the power to heal. My tongue, as James says, ... is a fire... [it] sets on fire the course of history. ~ James 3:6-10 How much more powerful is the written word? Easier to tame, yes, but just... Continue Reading →
I'm nearing the end of my novel. This is exciting stuff, even if a wee bit terrifying. As I approach the final stages of my story, I'm finding myself writing very, very slowly. Interesting, since I am convinced that the my mission for the end is to drive the pace faster and faster. To throw... Continue Reading →
Do you have one? This is one of those writing novelties that I have been lusting after since the day I embarked on this writing journey. What an excellent concept. What a glorious idea. The storing up of the words and phrases that tickle your tongue, excite your fingers, and beg to be made a... Continue Reading →
Facebook: It’s not really my thing. Before you bear fangs, let me explain. I love that Facebook is helping long lost best friends keep in touch over many miles and years. And all those cat pics are certainly cute. I even have a certain uncomfortable affinity for the socially acceptable and politically correct voyeurism born of... Continue Reading →
Man, is it hard to kill the darlings! I've been dancing around it for days, trying to figure out how I can work a scene into my novel. At some point I wrote it, obviously thinking it had a home. I don't know what happened since then, but, at this point, it truly is a gypsy,... Continue Reading →
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman My rating: 5 of 5 stars Ugh. 4 stars? 5 stars? I just couldn't decide. I went with 5 because my only reason for leaning 4 was comfort. This was not really my kind of book, so it took me a while to get into. Possibly my own roller-coaster of... Continue Reading →
I meant to publish a 'year in the life' when I hit a full year of blogging. But it came and went with little pomp, or even thought. Somehow a 'thirteen months in the life' doesn't carry the excitement, so I just let it go. But one hundred posts seems like something to celebrate, too!... Continue Reading →
Butt in chair, fingers tickling keyboard. That's the prescription, right? It is fairly imperative, if you desire to be a writer, to write, but I read an article recently that made me question the mantra and its power in my life. Since my own writing has been hovering somewhere between squeamish and nonexistent, I though... Continue Reading →
It's here. NaNoWriMo starts Sunday. Yikes. Last year I didn't participate, because I was completely engulfed in revisions on my novel, and refused to be bothered. This year I was tempted to do the same, but since the novel has been on a hiatus for the past couple of months, I thought I'd use NaNo... Continue Reading →
Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life by Douglas Wilson My rating: 5 of 5 stars You know it's a good one when you abstain from reading just to make it last longer. I'm not saying that Wordsmithy was one of those intense keep-you-up-at-night page-turners, or that I had to exercise any superhuman feats of... Continue Reading →
I have wanted to "make books" since around the sixth grade, and I published my first book when I was in my late thirties. My point is that the time in between was not wasted - submarine service, marriage, college, bringing up three kids, starting a school for them, and so forth. This kind of... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 